It is almost impossible to believe he is not the World Champion.
Where did he come in last year?

7th. But that was only because he lost A LOT of points due to combination rules.. Oda missed the previous season due to some personal issues, and I think last season he was just getting back into the swing of things competition wise (he only had one GP event) He seemed to be getting better at worlds and WTT. He beat Chan there, but his programs were crap last year.

He needs to really kick butt though this season if he wants the judges to be willing to give him the OGM. I think if he beats Lyseck here. Wins GPF, and starts landing quads, Oda will be making a strong case for himself. His long program is so strong, and if he adds a quad to that, it will be the whole package that has been missing for awhile.

7th. But that was only because he lost A LOT of points due to combination rules.. Oda missed the previous season due to some personal issues, and I think last season he was just getting back into the swing of things competition wise (he only had one GP event) He seemed to be getting better at worlds and WTT. He beat Chan there, but his programs were crap last year.

He needs to really kick butt though this season if he wants the judges to be willing to give him the OGM. I think if he beats Lyseck here. Wins GPF, and starts landing quads, Oda will be making a strong case for himself. His long program is so strong, and if he adds a quad to that, it will be the whole package that has been missing for awhile.

I see there has been some discussion about Evan's costume, so maybe the question was addressed already. But since I really want to know, I will ask anyway: why is the costume black? I thought he was performing the firebird, right? And the firebird is supposed to be colorful, like Yukari Nakano's version. Was he trying to portray some other character?

It's not a sarcastic question. I thought his program was fine, but I just could not help but keep wondering why the costume is black when I watched it. BTW, the Chinese announcers seemed to like this program, and the female announcer even said this program really fits Evan Lysacek's character/persona--- I'm not sure I understand what she meant (my guess is that she thought this program is passionate, and passion suits Lysacek). So, yeah, I think I need to understand why it is black first.

I see there has been some discussion about Evan's costume, so maybe the question was addressed already. But since I really want to know, I will ask anyway: why is the costume black? I thought he was performing the firebird, right? And the firebird is supposed to be colorful, like Yukari Nakano's version. Was he trying to portray some other character?

It's not a sarcastic question. I thought his program was fine, but I just could not help but keep wondering why the costume is black when I watched it. BTW, the Chinese announcers seemed to like this program, and the female announcer even said this program really fits Evan Lysacek's character/persona--- I'm not sure I understand what she meant (my guess is that she thought this program is passionate, and passion suits Lysacek). So, yeah, I think I need to understand why it is black first.

A little known fact but Evan is a huge fan of Johnny Cash, "The Man in Black."(Not to be confused with the motion picture "Men in Black," parts 1 & 2)

Watch for Evan's new exhibition music this year, the old Johnny Cash standard "A Boy Named Sue." Weir is so jealous about this he almost quit skating - again.